I Won't Let Go Again
by Lioness's Heart
Summary: Catherine makes a different choice. In the end, she has no regrets. Post-6x02 AU. Oneshot.


**Disclaimer: I own nothing recognizable, as per usual.**

 **This was written for a battle over at gameofcards over at LJ - the theme being colors. After what happened in 6x03 I needed something to turn out right for Steve and Catherine after all they've been through. Thus, this was born. It might be a little cheesy and possibly a bit out of character, but please bear with me. The title comes from Yours Again by Red.**

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It storms the morning of their wedding.

Catherine finds that she is grateful that she and Steve planned an evening ceremony and an indoor reception, not unlike Kono and Adam had the year before. She is grateful for more than just that. Gabriel Waincroft is dead. Wo Fat is long gone. Everyone that troubled Five-0 seems to have gone to ground for the moment. Against all odds, they have survived. She knows that this peace will not last – but she hopes that it will not get too out of hand until after they come back from their honeymoon.

The sky is endlessly blue by the time she walks to her car.

She loves blue. She loves the bright colors of Hawaii, the rich tones that she wakes up to every morning and the warm colors of the sun when it sets – but she loves the blue of the ocean and the sky most of all.

Their wedding is a simple affair – the canopy is full of white gardenias, plumeria, and the same blue roses as her bouquet. The roses seemed almost silly when she chose them – but the color drew her to them. The dusty tones are nothing like the silk ribbon around her waist, but they are perfect. It was only after the flowers had been ordered that the florist told her what they meant – attaining the impossible.

It seemed unexpectedly fitting at the time – she waited so long to hear Steve say the words and she came back to the uncertain remains of their relationship. They hardly got a chance to talk after Adam and Kono's wedding between Five-0 and her new job – and then it all fell into place.

She will never say his proposal was perfect. If she had to hazard a guess it was supposed to be some sort of grand romantic gesture rather than in the middle of a sugar cane field with their hands zip tied behind them. It might not have been romantic or terribly dignified, but it was _them_ and that was enough for her.

The ring he had given her when they had gotten home that night glittered on her finger, flashing in the dying sunlight as she prepares to walk down the aisle. They are not perfect, but they make each other better. She vividly remembers the day that Danny told her that Steve was the best version of himself when she was there. She knows that he makes her better, too. They might not work together anymore, but coming home to each other at night is enough. Even when Steve is called away at all hours of the day and night, it is still enough. All of their choices have led them here and Catherine is irrevocably, deliriously happy. She can handle him slipping out of bed in the middle of the night to deal with a homicide or a kidnapping. She loves him enough to be content with that and knowing that he will come back to her in the end.

They live a life full of interruptions. First it was duty pulling them in different – though somewhat united - directions, then it was the Navy pulling her one way and Five-0 pulling him another. Then Afghanistan turned into a disaster and she nearly lost him forever. Catherine has few regrets when it comes to Steve, but staying away as long as she did was one of them, especially after what happened. The disbelief she saw on his face when she surprised him and the wall she had seen between them had hurt so much – and it was her fault. Even when she could have come home – and when she finally did board her flight back to Honolulu - she was too scared to call him and tell him she was on her way. She tried to forget that – the haunted look in Steve's eyes was gone and that was enough. It was just another bump in their very long road. She knows that if they can weather that, they can weather any storm life throws their way.

Steve is wearing his dress blues. Cath has always loved how he looks in his blues, hands clasped behind his back at attention. Today his hands are clasped in front of him instead of behind and his entire attention is on her. The world seems to narrow to just the two of them for a breathless moment. That is the moment where it really hits her that this is real – that after years of dancing around each other, years of waiting for the other shoe to drop, they are _here_. There is a goofy smile on his face and tears welling in his eyes as she walks towards him.

She does not know how long this will last – the work they both do is incredibly dangerous and they have almost lost each other more times than she can recall. But for now Cath knows she can be happy with this. She can be happy with every moment they have together. He is her Navy SEAL, her knight in shining Kevlar, and he is _hers_ just as much as she is his. They can have their impossible moment and savor it for however long it lasts. That is enough.

The next few hours are a blur, full of happy tears and smiling until her cheeks hurt as Steve sweeps her around the dance floor. She can still hear the DJ saying _Mr. and Mrs. McGarrett_ hours later when she is carrying her heels and they meander away from the remaining guests and say goodbye to the family they have built with Danny and Chin and Kono and even Lou Grover. She lets out an uncharacteristic squeak of surprise later when Steve scoops her up and carries her over the threshold of his house and the night takes hold.

Catherine wakes the next morning to blue skies and the smell of bacon wafting from the kitchen. She smiles to herself. She has no regrets.


End file.
